Improvising a Main Salad

When you’re inventing your own salads, it’s easy to be inspired by fresh summer produce—and hard to make mistakes if you follow a few general rules.

• Match assertive greens (arugula, dandelion, chicory, endive, frisée and radicchio) with strong-flavored dressings and hearty ingredients, such as beef or sausage.
• Coat milder greens (romaine, Boston, Bibb and red-leaf lettuces, as well as mung bean, alfalfa and sunflower sprouts) with subtle dressings that won’t overpower them.
• Play with textures and temperatures—cool, lacy greens with warm goat cheese in crisp phyllo or just-grilled beef with citrus.
• For tossed salads, use ingredients of similar size and weight; heavy items will fall to the bottom of the bowl as you toss.
• Serve salads based on starches, such as pasta, rice, potatoes, bread or grains, at room temperature, not chilled.
• Don’t be afraid to use meat, seafood or poultry straight from the grill.

Published July 1996